Monday, July 3, 2017

Monster Monday: Minocentaur - Half-Minotaur, Half-Centaur

Today's Monster Monday is the minocentaur, a minotaur centaur. It has the lower body of a bull and the upper body of a minotaur. I guess its kind of like if a bull's neck suddenly turned into a full human torso. This taurine beast combines all the power and fury of a raging bull with all the power and fury of a raging minotaur. So watch out, I guess. Also, it dual-wields greataxes, because of course it does.

While I was statting it up, I was considering what kind of ranged weapon it should have: should it chuck a mighty spear, or go a more centaurish approach and wield a bow. Neither option quite felt right, but then I realized that I could just make it throw greataxes.

The reason minotaurs are often depicted wielding two-headed axes comes from their origins on the island of Crete. The minotaur was the monstrous offspring of King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, and a super sexy bull that Poseidon sent out of the sea. King Minos imprisoned the minotaur in the Labyrinth, the name of which (labyrinthos) probably derives from labrys, a type of two headed axe (pictured above) which was used in religious ceremonies by the Minoans. With the Minoans strongly associated with bulls, labrys, the minotaur, and the labyrinth, it is almost inevitable that modern depictions of the minotaur would have him wielding a two-headed axe, even if he was not described as such in the original stories.

But enough about boring old two-legged minotaurs. Let's learn more about this twin-labrys-wielding, four-hoofed minocentaur:

Minocentaurs
are masters of greataxe fighting. When attacking with greataxes, they gain
access to the feats Double-Slice, Throw Anything, Two-Handed Thrower, and Two-Weapon Fighting as bonus
feats, even if they do not meet the prerequisites. Minocentaurs treat greataxes
as light weapons for the purpose of determining two-weapon fighting penalties.

Unnatural Cunning (Ex)

Like true
minotaurs, minocentaurs possess an innate cunning that gives them immunity to maze spells and prevents them from ever
becoming lost or being caught flat-footed.

Minocentaurs
are powerful, centauroid creatures with the bull-headed upper bodies of
minotaurs and the quadrupedal lower bodies of bulls. They are legendary
warriors, roaming their territories in bands and tribes, making frequent raids
on local settlements purely for the sport of battle. They revel in warfare,
especially in the art of the greataxe, which they learn to master from a young
age. After battle, they amuse themselves by telling outlandish tales of their
exaggerated exploits and giving each other intricate tattoos. Although
outsiders tend to think of them as a cross between minotaurs and centaurs,
minocentaurs (who refer to themselves as labyrontes) consider this a grave
insult. They are known to slay centaurs on sight, and like to take minotaurs as
slaves. They have been known, on rare occasion, to ally themselves with ogres
or hill giant clans in order to attack walled cities.